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Super Foods: Almonds

Superfoods such as almonds can work better than vitamin pills to slash your risk of heart disease. Discover the nutritional benefits of almonds and quick and easy serving suggestions. Healthy eating doesn't have to take extra time out of your busy day--reaching for a handful of almonds is as quick as grabbing a bag of potato chips.

Nutritious Almond

Storehouse of good fat and protein, almonds are fantastic for adding into soups, salads, pasta or just by themselves.

Super nutrients:Monounsaturated fat, magnesium, calcium, potassium, fiber.Serving size: 1 ounce (about 24 almonds); 160 calories.Benefits: A single serving of these crunchy, protein-packed nuggets provides a whopping 9 grams of monounsaturated fat to help slash LDLs ("bad" cholesterol) and boost HDLs ("good" cholesterol). Simply choosing almonds instead of a samosa, chips, or gulab jamun for two snacks a day could cut LDLs nearly by 10 percent. Almonds also pack 6 percent of your daily calcium quota and 20 percent of the magnesium you need--two minerals proven to help lower blood pressure. Bonus: You get 35 percent of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin E, an artery-protecting antioxidant, as well as 3 grams of fiber. Just be sure to stop with one handful at snack time--advice that holds true for all nuts because they're calorie-dense.

Good ideas

• Soak 10 almonds overnight. Peel them in the morning and eat. Or carry one handful of almonds in a small box in your car or briefcase or purse. Fill the box each morning.
• Toss some almonds into salads, stir-fry dishes, fruit salad, or hot or cold cereal
• Soak a generous quantity of almonds overnight and chop in the morning. Keep them on hand (store them in the freezer for freshness) to add to vegetable dishes, cakes and curries.